Lanigan Surges to World of Outlaws Late Model Win at Fayetteville
Two-time champ becomes first two-time winner on tour this season
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – May 2, 2014 – G.R. Smith did all he could do to hang onto the lead on Friday night at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, but Darrell Lanigan was too strong down the stretch and swept past Smith to become the first driver with two World of Outlaws Late Model Series wins this season.
Smith and Rick Eckert battled for much of the 50-lap A-main before Lanigan and Jonathan Davenport came on strong in the second half of the feature. A restart with 15 laps to go shook up the contenders when they all tried to go for the same piece of real estate in turn one. By the time it settled, Lanigan jumped from fourth to second and set his sights on Smith.
Then with nine to go, Smith started sliding up the 4/10-mile red clay oval, giving Lanigan a chance to drive under him and into the top spot. A caution with eight to go gave Lanigan the clear track he needed to drive off to a 2.292-second, $10,000 victory over Davenport, who was able to sneak past third-place finishing Smith on the last lap.
Chub Frank and Eckert rounded out the top five.
“The third caution we just got in there and got in the rut in turn one and got into the side of Rambo [Franklin] and couldn’t turn,” said Lanigan, of Union, Ky. “We fell back three or four spots, but got a good restart the next time and I found a little groove in there and the car was good.”
Lanigan became the series’ first two-time winner this season through nine A-mains. His victory Friday in his Club 29 machine is a little redemption for a runner-up performance in last week’s Illini 100.
“I feel like I let the one last week get by me so definitely to win this one makes us feel good,” he said. “It’s hard to believe, we’ve had a good car all year, we’ve been there, just needed a little bit.”
Davenport was in the hunt for a win all night long, but ultimately he wasn’t able to find a way around Lanigan down the stretch.
“I kept getting stuck on the outside and I kept trying to make it work,” said Davenport, of Blairsville, Ga. “We probably had a third-place car there but we stuck with it and didn’t give up.”
Smith, whose team made the three-hour journey from the Charlotte suburbs with his car on the back of an open trailer, was strong all night. He picked up a $200 track bonus for setting quick time, then won his heat, got the outside pole in the redraw and raced hard to hold off Eckert, who was driving the #1 Rocket Chassis car. Ultimately, Smith settled for third, but was pleased with his volunteer crew’s effort.
“We had a real good car, setting fast time and winning the heat race,” said Smith, of Cornelius, N.C. “We just lost it trying too hard. We didn’t know what kind of lead we had and got the right rear tire hot and if you give up a little bit to these guys they’re good enough to pounce on you.
“We define weekend warrior. I never really looked behind me, or looked on the board. I didn’t really care because I knew whether it was Rick Eckert or Darrell Lanigan or Jonathan Davenport, these guys are national champions. I made my mind up in the pit area before we went out there that we were going to go out swinging. We came up about eight laps short. At least we know we’re knocking on the door.”
Interestingly enough, the heat winners were also the top three finishers in the A-main – G.R. Smith, Darrell Lanigan and Jonathan Davenport.
The WoO LMS will be back in action on Saturday at Lavonia (Ga.) Speedway in another 50-lap, $10,000-to-win event.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com .
Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws .
World of Outlaws Late Model Series Statistical Report; Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway; May 2, 2014
(Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (29) Darrell Lanigan/50 $10,000
2. (6) Jonathan Davenport/50 $5,000
3. (22*) G.R. Smith/50 $4,125
4. (1*) Chub Frank/50 $2,550
5. (1) Rick Eckert/50 $2,050
6. (14M) Morgan Bagley/50 $1,750
7. (25) Shane Clanton/50 $1,400
8. (39) Tim McCreadie/50 $1,400
9. (44) Clint Smith/50 $1,250
10. (18) Eric Wells/50 $1,150
11. (6B) Chris Blackwell/50 $1,050
12. (99JR) Frank Heckenhast Jr./50 $1,300
13. (09X) Ross Bailes/50 $950
14. (39B) Steve Blackburn/50 $950
15. (18C) Chase Junghans/50 $850
16. (99B) Rick “Boom” Briggs/49 $850
17. (2) Dennis Franklin/38 $770
18. (76) Brandon Overton/35 $750
19. (A1) Austin Hubbard//35 $730
20. (618) Kevin Wilson/32 $700
21. (40B) Kyle Bronson/19 $700
22. (09) Johnny Pursley/16 $700
23. (72) Mike Parker/15 $700
24. (3) Shawn Harrell/DNS $700
* Earnings include Winners Circle program, cash contingency award bonuses and track bonus for quick time.
Time of Race: 22 Mins., 18 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 2.292 Secs.
Yellow Flags: Five (laps 11, 19, 25, 35, 42)
Red Flags: None
Lap Leaders: G.R. Smith (1-41); Lanigan (42-100)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: G.R. Smith ($500)
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results
(Position/No./Driver/Hometown/
1. 22*-G.R. Smith/Cornelius, N.C. – 16.782
2. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, Ky. – 17.004
3. 6-Jonathan Davenport/Blairsville, Ga. – 17.159
4. 1-Rick Eckert/York, Pa. – 17.160
5. 3-Shawn Harrell/Raeford, N.C. – 17.356
6. 39B-Steve Blackburn/Brown Summit, N.C. – 17.419
7. 09X-Ross Bailes/Clover, S.C. – 17.454
8. 2-Dennis Franklin/Gaffney, S.C. – 15.578
9. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, Pa. – 17.627
10. 76-Brandon Overton/Appleton, Ga. – 17.642
11. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, N.Y. – 17.730
12. 99B-Rick “Boom” Briggs/Bear Lake, Pa. – 17.752
13. 25-Shane Clanton/Zebulon, Ga. – 17.758
14. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, Ga. – 17.760
15. 09-Johnny Pursley/Clover, S.C. – 17.825
16. 18-Eric Wells/Hazard, Ky. – 17.866
17. 14M-Morgan Bagley/Tyler, Texas – 17.901
18. 18C-Chase Junghans/Manhattan, Kan. – 17.902
19. 6B-Chris Blackwell/Gray’s Creek, S.C. – 17.945
20. A1-Austin Hubbard/Seaford, Del. – 18.017
21. 40B-Kyle Bronson/Tampa, Fla. – 18.023
22. 99*-Frank Heckenast Jr./Orland Park, Ill. – 18.075
23. 618-Kevin Wilson/Stoneboro, N.C. – 18.154
24. 9-Dale Hammond/Nichols, S.C. – 18.867
25. 79-Roger Lucas/Benson, N.C. – 18.877
26. 72-Mike Parker/Fayetteville, N.C. – 19.226
27. 88-Dustin Mitchell/Pine Level, N.C. – NT
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. G.R. Smith, 2. Rick Eckert, 3. Brandon Overton, 4. Ross Bailes, 5. Shane Clanton, 6. Chris Blackwell, 7. Frank Heckenast Jr., 8. Eric Wells, 9. Mike Parker.
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. Darrell Lanigan, 2. Dennis Franklin, 3. Shawn Harrell, 4. Morgan Bagley, 5. Tim McCreadie, 6. Clint Smith, 7. Austin Hubbard, 8. Kevin Wilson, 9. Roger Lucas.
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Steve Blackburn, 3. Chub Frank, 4. Rick “Boom” Briggs, 5. Kyle Bronson, 6. Chase Junghans, 7. Johnny Pursely, 8. Dale Hammond (DNS), 9. Dustin Mitchell (DNS).
Last Chance Showdown (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Austin Hubbard, 2. Johnny Pursley, 3. Frank Heckenast Jr., 4. Eric Wells, 5. Kevin Wilson, 6. Roger Lucas, 7. Mike Parker.
World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher/qualifier or next highest displaying decal):
Ohlins Shocks ($50 cash to fast qualifier): G.R. Smith
Comp Cams ($50 certificate): G.R. Smith
MSD Ignition ($50 cash): G.R. Smith
Quartermaster ($100 certificate): G.R. Smith
Wrisco (three sheets of aluminum/certificate to A-Main winner): Darrell Lanigan
STP ($50 cash to 2nd-place finisher in A-Main): G.R. Smith
Penske Racing Shocks ($50 to 3rd-place finisher in A-Main): G.R. Smith
Roush-Yates ($50 cash to 4th-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank
JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert
Lincoln Welders ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley
American Racing Wheels ($50 cash to 7th-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie
VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 8th-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie
Edelbrock ($50 cash to 9th-place finisher in A-Main): Clint Smith
Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells
Cometic ($50 cash to 12th-place finisher in A-Main): Frank Heckenast Jr.
JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick “Boom” Briggs
Superflow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main): Steve Blackburn
Quartermaster ($25 certificate to 15th-place finisher in A-Main): Chase Junghans
JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 16th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick “Boom” Briggs
Roush-Yates ($50 certificate to 18th-place finisher in A-Main): Austin Hubbard
Quartermaster ($50 certificate to 19th-place finisher in A-Main): Kevin Wilson
Arizona Sports Shirts ($100 certificate to 20th-place finisher in A-Main): Kevin Wilson
JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 21st-place finisher in A-Main): Kyle Bronson
Roush-Yates ($50 certificate to 22nd-place finisher in A-Main): G.R. Smith
MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main): G.R. Smith
Armor All (one case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO driver): G.R. Smith
Reliable Painting Award (one free tire): Rick Eckert
World of Outlaws Late Model Series 2014 Event Winners:
Feb. 14 – Brady Smith-Bubba Raceway Park
Feb. 15 – Brandon Sheppard-Bubba Raceway Park
Feb. 16 – Darrell Lanigan-Bubba Raceway Park
Feb. 20 – Casey Roberts-Volusia Speedway Park
Feb. 22 – Kyle Bronson-Volusia Speedway Park
March 29 – Billy Moyer Sr.-I30 Speedway
April 12 – Mike Marlar-Tazewell Speedway
April 26 – Shannon Babb-Farmer City Raceway
May 2 – Darrell Lanigan-Fayetteville Motor Speedway